Hammer King Productions King Of The Hammers “The Ultimate Desert Race” “2nd Crusade” Scheduled for February 27, 2009 at the Johnson Valley OHV Park in Johnson Valley, California, King of the Hammers, “2nd Crusade” will host a star-studded field comprised of 92 teams, including driver Robert Usnick and Co-driver & Sponsor Billy Brown from Performance Off-Road, in Fayetteville, NC.


The King of the Hammers (KOH) race blurs the lines between Rock Crawling, Rock Racing, and Desert Racing. Last year the race started on Means Dry Lake bed with 44 starters. From there, it ran through sections of very fast desert terrain before winding through some of the toughest, hard-core rock crawling routes the Hammer Trails have to offer. Arizona’s Shannon Campbell took the overall finish in his Monster Energy/Campbell Enterprises moon buggy. Only 25 other vehicles crossed the finish line in the ten hour time limit. For 2009 the event has been expanded to accommodate 92 race cars. There are several methods by which drivers were allowed to enter. The original racers (The OG 13) that came out for the first K.O.H. test in ’07 will always be invited to come back. In addition, the top ten from the previous year have secured a spot. The other two ways to secure your entry are via performance by winning a national championship and this year the promoters decided to fill 20 positions with applicants from all over the world.
 
This is how Robert Usnick with Usnick Motorsports stood over the rest with his application of uniqueness. He had McCune Technology, here in Fayetteville, laser cut the King of the Hammers logo from a sheet of 16 gauge aluminum sheet metal. It was then attached to a binder with the application and an exceptional resume from the United States Army and hands on experience in rock crawling and custom fabrication inside. He rose above the others and received the first phone call before anyone else as top pick. Promoter Dave Cole of Hammer King productions asked if he was ready for the challenge of a lifetime; the most extreme off road race in the United States. Besides Performance Off-Road on Reilly Rd, there are other sponsors who have helped the team. Final Touch Powder Coating just outside our hometown in Spring Lake, NC, took care of all the powder coating and made the #406 racecar look absolutely great. BF Goodrich is the official tire of the event, and that’s what Usnick will be running. Transporting the team out to the event will be Hot Shot Trucking, a local trucking company owned and operated by Bryan Gains & Bryce Gains.
Local Steve Tolbert will be driving the 406x buggy as the primary support vehicle. King of the Hammers is the Daytona of rock crawling and there’s a whole week of activities planned for this year. This 100-mile course is going to be every bit as tough as racing 1000 miles. It will feature all aspects of open desert racing, but will add in the slower and technical crawling section.
 
Experience and equipment well versed in both climbing big ledges and traversing insane obstacles that rock crawling is known for, as well as speed in the desert is the blend teams are aiming for. The expected finishing time for the winning team will be about 4 hours with a cut off of 10 hours, with an expected finish rate of about 40 percent! Hammer King Productions, Inc has partnered with multiple media outlets in order to bring the action to fans worldwide, live from the event site. To track the 406 car, or any of the racers, go to www.rallytrack.com. Pirate4x4.com will also have live radio feeds from the event Headquarters tent on race day. =